Mom battling cancer hoped to make son’s birthday special—her one request brought an entire football team to her rescue
A special gesture might mean the world to a person going through a challenging time. A mom, Alicia, had been battling cancer and multiple sclerosis at the same time and the entire family was struggling financially. So when it was her toddler son, Grayson's birthday, the mom hoped that one gesture would help the superhero-loving boy deal with his situation better and make his day. She put up a request on the school Facebook group and the response was much bigger than what she expected, per KOMO News.
Alicia had been diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma and her family was struggling with finances when Grayson's birthday arrived. In hopes of making her son feel better, the mom put up a request on Facebook and asked if one student from the Lake Stevens High School could come to Grayson's party dressed as a superhero. "I just posted on Facebook, like Stevens' moms and asked if one of their high schoolers would be willing to dress as a superhero. I'd buy the costume for $20," Alicia recounted. However, she was not expecting her little request for her Spider-Man fan son to get such a reaction. The entire football team at the school got different superhero costumes and gathered close to the family's house.
"I'd just got home from practice one day and my mom jumped out from the couch and she was like, 'You need to get a costume right now' and I was confused and she was like, 'This little boy, he's having a birthday party and he wants superheroes there,'" Dallas Landeros, dressed as Black Panther, told the outlet. The entire football team volunteered to get a costume for the party to surprise Grayson. "Good for the heart, you know. Feels like I’m doing something right. Something good," another student, Junior Robinson, added. The team made their coaches and moms super proud with their gesture. "So proud of them. Such good boys. I just love them. All of them. Every single one of them," a mom remarked.
The team made their way to the house and Grayson, who was dressed in a Spiderman costume himself, was super excited to see all the superheroes walk into his party one by one and wish him. Many of them shook hands with him as well. He even told Captain America that he would like one of his suits. "He said he wanted one of the suits I’m wearing, so maybe I can make that happen," the student suggested.
The team also came bearing loads of gifts for Grayson, made possible by the team's coach, Jim Lussier. All Jim had to do was send a text. "I threw a text message out to the coaches and immediately, within five minutes, everybody said, 'We're all in, what do you need?'" They also brought a special mask and cape for Grayson, as well as a hammer. Eventually, the team waved to Grayson, who had turned four, as they went home at the end of the party. It was a dream-come-true moment for the little boy. Grayson returned the favor by coming to one of the team's games and happily cheered for them from the stands.